An iconic piece of lingerie is celebrating a milestone anniversary this year: A century has passed since the first bra was patented, cementing a switch from the full-figure corsets that used to cinch women into brutalizing hourglass shapes. To help mark the centenary, Switzerland-based lingerie company Triumph is offering free bra-fitting clinics at Hudson's Bay stores across Canada. According to retailers and industry experts, most women still aren't wearing a properly sized bra, a garment that has morphed from Edwardian-era unmentionable into a fashion statement unto itself. (Thanks, Madonna!) Here are a few of the highlights from its 100-year journey.
1914
After becoming frustrated with a whale-bone corset that kept popping through a new party dress, 19-year-old New York socialite Mary Phelps Jacob sewed together two pieces of silk tied with cord. A patent for the first modern bra followed.
1917
World War I removes women from their corsets when the metal required to make them is needed for munitions.
1922
Enid Bissett and Ida and William Rosenthal create the Maidenform brassiere, which features two cups separated by elastic built into dresses.
1933
Swiss-based Triumph introduces the first bras with front fastenings and changeable straps.
1943
Jane Russell famously sports a cantilevered bra designed by eccentric millionaire Howard Hughes in the movie The Outlaw.
1947
Frederick Mellinger of Frederick's of Hollywood introduces the world's first padded bra, followed by the first push-up bra a year later.
1959
Warners and DuPont produce Lycra, an elastane fibre that revolutionizes lingerie.
1967
Triumph is the first firm to use a moulded-cup technique to eliminate seams.
1968
Feminists begin burning their bras in public to draw attention to the rising women's rights movement.
1977
The first sports bra is created from two jockstraps sewn together.
1990
Madonna wears Jean Paul Gaultier's conical bra on her Blond Ambition tour, paving the way for the underwear-as-outerwear trend.
1994
Model Eva Herzigova poses for Wonderbra's "Hello Boys" ad campaign. The billboards are so eye-catching they reportedly causes traffic delays and car crashes.
2001
The Victoria's Secret Fashion Show, featuring leggy models in the skimpiest of knickers, is televised for the first time.
2002
Bragel International introduces the NuBra, made of self-adhesive silicone cups – no straps required.
2010
Katy Perry wears a cupcake bra outfitted with cans of whipped cream in her California Gurls video.
2014
Japanese lingerie company Ravijour releases the True Love Tester bra, which unhooks only when the wearer's heart rate reaches a certain level.
For more information about Triumph's bra-fitting clinics at Hudson's Bay stores, e-mail bra.fittings.ca@triumph.com.